


A Lost Cat

by Nory



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, ノラガミ | Noragami
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, F/F, Gods, Shinigami
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-18
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-09 08:56:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1976823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nory/pseuds/Nory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ymir, God of Calamity, saves a high school girl but loses her shinki due to her perpetual unemployment and obnoxious personality.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Lost Cat

“Ugh what a job, I’m tired of getting calls from these high school kids, especially stupid ones like that,” huffed Ymir. Tomo looked at her pointedly, “hey, give her a break, it’s hard for them, sometimes its hard not having friends in a place filled with people...you would know how that feels wouldn’t you?.”

“Hey, that..that was uncalled for!!” fumed Ymr. 

Ymir kicked a coke can in front of her in the dingy alleyway, where she had been spray painting her cell number, the slanting yellow evening light made patterns on the cracked brick wall. Tomo stood near her. Ymir hated the fact that she was not a well known god, like many of the other ones. She didn’t even have a shrine. She tried her best to save up and took what ever jobs she was offered, even though most of them were boring menial ones. I’m a damn God aren’t I? I can’t be fixing sinks and babysitting brats. She bit her lip and folded her arms, tossing the spray can behind her. Night time was coming, and that was when the phantoms came out. 

Tomo, her blade shinki began to tap her feet. The clicking sound became louder and louder until Ymir whirled around and yelled “WHAT?” 

“Where are we gonna sleep tonight? The phantoms are gonna be out here any minute, unless you’re willing to take on all of them,” she sniped. “We don’t even have a shrine and its been three months, you promised!” 

“I”m trying my best! You know what it’s like, I’m not like Annie or.. or Eren, sometimes you have to start from nothing, don’t you understand?,” she retorted. “Besides, I’m gonna be famous, I’ll have worshippers and fangirls alike, they’ll know how powerful I can be, I’ll never die,” Ymir exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with a different kind of energy. No matter how rough things got, she had this extraordinary drive...or more like obscene fantasy. “I’ll have all the girls I’ll ever want and the biggest shrine, bigger than that brat Eren’s, they’ll call me their one true god soon enough!” 

A crumpled coke can suddenly hit her on the head, breaking her out of her reverie.  
“Hey! What was that for?! You’re always hitting me, you know,” she grumbled, rubbing the spot on the side of her head.

“I quit!” Tomo yelled. “You’re useless and you daydream too much and you’re a nobody God, release me right now. NOW!” She stomped her foot, her bobbed black hair practically electrified with ferocity. 

“No, no, no..no please, just one more month, c’mon, one more isn’t that long, give me some time to find another shinki first before you leave,” pleaded Ymir. 

“Release me, Ymir!!” Tomo took a step closer and well, she did look quite threatening.

“Alright.. jeez,” sighed Ymir, “I...release you from my service, Tomo.” 

Spidery ink that had once been the symbol of her service to Ymir floated off her wrist, the silvery letters vanished into thin air and she was finally free. 

“Good riddance…” she mumbled and began to walk away.

“Where will you stay?” asked Ymir, “None of your business!” she shouted back.

“Pffff! Whatever, I can find a better shinki anyway.”

“Good luck with that,” Tomo rolled her eyes and they parted ways. 

Ymir slept in an abandoned shrine as she usually did that night. It was cold and she huddled under her thin blanket. At least the phantoms wouldn’t bother her as long as she was in a shrine. She got tired of their incessant chant for the only ever said two words, “Smells good, smells good.” The phantoms were attracted to the scent of living, and gods. 

It took a while for her to fall asleep. She’d been thinking about the high school girl who called for help (ymir liked to advertise her cell number all over the city...including school bathroom stalls). She’d answered the girl who was crying in the bathroom. She was being bullied and the the huge serpent-like form of the phantom hovering over the school was a give away. They fed off of dark energy. Mutsumi was her name. She tried to kill herself. Ymir felt pity for the girl, sure enough, but it angered her even more. How can someone so young want to end their life? Perhaps she’d been too harsh in reprimanding her. Ymir wasn’t one for sugarcoating things. At least Mutsumi was alive and well and the phantom destroyed. That part was thrilling. 

Ymir woke up early the next morning, her cell phone in her hand. She’d been staring at it, hoping it would ring. She had no shinki now and the only jobs she could do at the moment were menial tasks. “Shit...back at square one...all over again,” she muttered. She looked at her glass jar of savings, the money brought her mood up a little though. 

Suddenly the phone rang, and Ymir almost fell off the rickety porch of the shrine, nearly dropping the phone. 

“Hello, this is the god Ymir at your service, how can I help you, mortal?”

“Um, you’re not really a god are you?” the timid voice asked on the other end. 

“Of course i’m a god, how DARE Y- ….I..yeah I’m a god,” she answered, it was best not to anger her customers, she badly needed the money. 

“uh, if you are, can you help me find my cat? his name is Uesama, he’s been missing for a week, we can’t find him anywhere, I...I really miss him. I’ll give you 5 yen.”

5 yen, seriously, this kid must be joking. Didn’t I just tell him Im a goddam God… and he calls his cat Uesama..doesn’t that mean ‘my lord,’ damn cat gets more respect than I do, Ymir fumed. She accepted the job anyway. She was starting from nothing after all. “Fine, I’ll look for your cat.”

“R-really??! Thank you!! Thank you so much!” he exclaimed. He gave her his address and contact information and she was on her way. The city held some prospects after all. It was always like this.


	2. Brown Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krista tries to save a god in a tracksuit.

Krista and her friends been released from class earlier that day. It was a beautiful autumn afternoon. The air and was bright and crisp. Sasha suggested they walk in the prettiest part of the city, they had some time to kill anyway, they’d enjoy themselves this afternoon. The leaves had already begun to turn crimson and orange, the brittle crunch was a comforting sound underneath their boots on the sidewalk. Connie tugged his beanie over over his head as the three of them stopped outside a bakery where sasha was about to drag them in. Outside of the glass display of quite an enticing selection of puff pastries, Krista noticed a small flyer tacked to the street sign where advertised was Touno a champion pro wrestler, his gloved fist throwing a powerful punch towards the viewer. 

“Ooh!! Did you guys see the tournament yesterday?” Krista turned to look at her friends, eyes brimming with excitement from the thrilling match she witnessed just last night. She’d been cheering on her favorite pro wrestler, “It was so awesome! Touno won every match he was in, I told you he can’t be beat!” Krista exclaimed, mimicking his pose in the photo. 

“HIs form is also so precise, so swift, I wish I could fight like him…!” she continued, attempting to do a few punches in the air in front of her. 

“Shorty like you?” laughed Sasha, patting her friend on the head. Krista pouted. 

“Wow, are you in love with him or something?” asked Connie, ducking behind Sasha, expecting a punch in the shoulder for that question. 

“You guys don’t see what I see, an athlete, and skilled one at that,” Krista huffed. 

“What ever you say,” Sasha giggled. 

Krista gave Connie a swift punch in the shoulder when he wasn’t looking. “Hey!!” he said, rubbing his shoulder through his sweater, “For a shorty, you sure hit hard.” She smirked, “He’s definitely not my type anyway.” 

Before they could go in the bustling but definitely warmer interior of the bakery, Krista heard a sing song voice from across the street causing her to turn around and look for the source and there she was. Around the corner stood a tall olive skinned girl with dark hair in a short ponytail at the nape of her neck. She was wearing a black tracksuit. 

“Uesama!” she called, with her hands cupped around her mouth. She began walking towards Krista and her friends. “Uesamaaaaa!”

The odd thing was, despite her being quite loud, she drew no attention to herself, the people walking by seemed not to spare her a single glance. In fact, there was something even stranger about her that Krista just couldn’t put her finger on. She had a magnetic sort of presence even though her antics went by unnoticed by everyone else.  
Krista heard a faint meow around where she was standing, a glimpse of a cat’s tail disappeared behind the bakery. But the taller girl’s eyes were faster.

“Hey, krista, are you coming in or what,” said Connie, “Its cold out here.” 

“Uh, you guys can go on in first, I just wanna check out...something,” she said. Sasha nodded and they began to walk in, but suddenly the tall girl made a dash in in the busy street in front of the moving bus and Krista couldn’t really register what was going on and why she did it but she ran as fast as she could and pushed the girl out of the way to safety where they both tumbled to the ground and the bus screeched to a halt, the bus driver frantically running towards them and the the screams of the nearby pedestrian witnesses could be heard. She thought she heard Sasha and Connie yell her name but the last thing she could really recall were the wide and confused yellow brown eyes of the girl she tried to save. Then everything went black.


	3. Phantom Voices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krista isn't sure if she's going mad. What she doesn't realize is that her life will be changed forever.

The voices were loud. They were wails and faint whispers, that seemed to be right in her ear. Some of them were heartbreaking, the ones that belonged to children abandoned and unloved. But there was no one there. It was her first night in the hospital after the accident and she lay there in the darkness for a while before she could go back to sleep.

Krista had been fortunate that she only had a few bumps and bruises. The bus had stopped right in the nick of time before it could fatally injure...or worse, kill her. The minute she awoke, her parents were the first to see her. Her mother’s lined and worried eyes were a comforting sight. Her father touched the gauze wrapped around the crown of her head, “You are too reckless sometimes, Krista,” he said, his voiced cracked and tired but she could sense the relief he also felt by the gentle touch of his hand on her face. She smiled. 

“Why did you run in the street like that?” her mother implored, “Krista, you need to be careful!” 

“This is a city, not some countryside where you can just walk where ever you want, it’s more dangerous here, I’ve decided to let you walk around with your friends, maybe I’m too lenient…” 

Krista felt her hands clench. 

“There was a girl, I...I was trying to save her,” she remembered it all now. “Where is she? Is she okay? I need to see if she’s okay!” she exclaimed. Krista looked around her frantically but there were only two other cots in the room. They were empty. Maybe she was stationed in another room.

A nurse came in at that moment and Krista took her chance then. 

“Where’s the girl?” she asked her. 

“Girl?” the nursed asked, tilting her head.

“Yes, a girl, a-a girl, she had brown eyes and I tried to save her, is she okay, just tell me if she’s okay...please!,” Krista began to get frustrated. Why wasn’t anyone telling her anything?

Her parents appeared even more worried and they were looking at her as if she had two heads and the nurse scribbled something on her clipboard and Krista really felt, more than ever, like throwing something and hearing it crash to block out the incessant whispering in her ears. 

“There was no girl, Krista,” the nurse said as gently as she could, “the fall must have affected you somewhat, you’ll need more rest.” She turned to her parents, “And don’t you worry, everything is perfectly fine, she’s just got a few scratches but she’ll be up and running around as usual in no time,” she smiled warmly. “I’ll need you to sign a few documents before she’s released, please.” 

As her parents and the nurse were discussing the forms, Krista lay there and thought about the girl. I must be going insane then, she thought, If everyone doesn’t believe me. The effort she made to put it out of her mind was quite trying, enough to warrant sleep, and her eyelids were shut before she could think further about this dilemma. 

Now here she was. They’d suggested she stay one more day in the hospital. It was dark and she didn’t like the salinated smell of the room. She wondered if anyone had died there...if anyone had ever died in her very bed. Krista shuddered. I shouldn’t be thinking about that, nope, she whispered to herself. She was glad the voices in her ear had died down. At first she’d thought they were in her head. 

She tried to close her eyes once more, imploring herself to fall asleep. A few minutes passed and she felt a weight on the left side of her bed. Her eyes shot open. 

“Hey.”

Krista shrieked and nearly fell of the bed. 

“W-what...how?!” she sputtered. It was the girl from the day before. The one she tried to save. She was in the exact same black tracksuit and she was laying there right on her bed with her chin in her palm. She looked rather bored than anything. 

“You’re a runt aren’t you,” she said, turning over and crossing her legs.

“How’d you get in here?!” Krista yelled, “I didn’t see the door open!” 

“I’m a god, I can get in anywhere I want,” she said, cocking her head to one side. 

“What are you talking about, you’re...you’re crazy!” Krista backed away to the nearby cot behind her. The girl bounded off the bed and strode towards her. The closer she came, the smaller Krista seemed to feel. She was so tall, she towered over her. 

“Look, Krista, I just wanted to come by here and tell you thanks for saving me, I mean, you really didn’t have to,” she said. Krista saw a light dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks. 

“Didn’t have to?!” Krista gawked at her, “You walked in front of the thing like...like it was nothing, you could have gotten severely injured.” 

“I’m a god, if i ever die, I wouldn’t die that easily,” she replied, grinning. Krista could only stare back at her with incredulity. 

“Hey, you’re fine, right? You’re not like, badly hurt or anything at least. That’s all I wanted to see.” 

She walked past her and opened the small window, lithely climbing up. She looked back once more at her and Krista didn’t know what to say anymore. Maybe it was all a dream.

Her brown eyes were indeed striking. More so than before, especially in the pale glow of the moonlight. She leaped out. 

Krista ran to where she’d been and she was able to catch a glimpse of her bounding gracefully from building to building as if she had wings. Her hospital room was 12 stories high. 

The moonlight made her linen hospital gown glow from the waist up. She stood there for a while, even though the girl was long gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just wanted to add, that this story will sometimes be in krista's pov for some chapters, and Ymir's pov in others.  
> I hope you guys enjoy this story though!


	4. Divine Burdens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krista doesn't yet know that her tumble with the calamity god has resulted in some rather divine burdens, or maybe...a divine gift.

“You found him!!” the boy exclaimed. Now that Ymir has seen him in person, he really was quite a child, with flyaway black hair and large black eyes. He was so happy to have Uesama safe in his arms. The cat nuzzled under his chin and purred. 

“So...my money,” Ymir said, folding her arms. 

“Oh..y-yeah!” he said, still holding the cat. They were having quite a moment together. He retreated back into the room walking down the hallway to get the money when his mother appeared from the kitchen. “Who were you talking to just n- Uesama!” she then exclaimed noticing their house cat had returned. She knelt down and patted its fuzzy grey head. 

The kid came back and dropped two coins in Ymir’s palm. She raised a brow. 

“I just..really wanted to say thanks, if it hadn’t been for you, I’d never see him again,” a fond glance was thrown toward Uesama. 

His mother then walked towards them, Ymir was practically invisible to her. To most humans, a god’s presence was hard to notice, they just needed a little...nudge. ”Who are you talking to?” she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“Ymir, she helped us find Uesama,” he answered. He gestured toward the tall girl. Her eyes widened, “Oh, I...I didn’t see you there!” she said. 

“It happens,” Ymir shrugged. 

The older woman smiled warmly, “We are both grateful to you, thank you for returning Uesama.”

Ymir nodded. She was ready to leave until the woman halted her and asked if she would like some of the buns she’d just made. “They’re about done now, freshly made!” 

Maybe odd jobs aren’t so bad after all, eh? Ymir thought to herself. It was nearing late evening now and she’d walked back to the old rickety shrine near the cluster of olive trees with a hamper of extra sweet buns and six yen. 

She lay back on the thin sleeping bag she’d spread over the dusty porch with half a bun still in her mouth. Soon enough, she found herself thinking about Krista and wondered how a human could have seen her so easily...and why a human would want to rescue her so readily. She had to admit she was flattered. She’d enjoyed scaring the girl half to death in the hospital room and was pleased to see she still had some spunk in her in spite of it all. She looked even smaller when she slept, Ymir mused. 

_________________________________________________________

 

Ever since the accident, everything had been quite normal. Krista returned to school where Sasha and Connie were waiting for her. They’d only had the chance to visit her once in the hospital. She decided it would be best to wait until her release to tell them about...well, everything. She wasn’t very confident they’d believe her story. 

There was, however, one change- she’d been feeling so sleepy lately; and her body felt heavier somehow, although she weighed the same. Despite going to bed at regular hours and getting more than enough sleep, she found herself nodding off in class far more often than she should. Just yesterday, in her history class (albeit, it was already quite a boring lecture to begin with) she’d fallen sound asleep, no matter how frantically Sasha was trying to keep her awake. Mr. Nakamura, her teacher stopped his lecture just to wake her up, “Perhaps another day...or week in the hospital is needed if you are unable to stay conscious in class?” he said sternly.

“No, sir I..its fine,” Krista assured him, a bit embarrassed as the whole class was watching her now. She sat up straight in her seat to further convey her alertness. “Please don’t stop the lecture on my account.”

He nodded and went back to the whiteboard. Sasha gave her a pointed look. “Keep it together,” she whispered. 

She’d told them, both Connie and Sasha, about everything that had happened; about the girl she’d tried to save, her mysterious visit at the hospital and now her unusual perpetual sleepiness. They worried of course, but they assumed it must be side effects of the accident, “There was no girl, Krista,” Connie tried to assure her, “I saw it all happen; you just ran in front of that bus so fast we couldn’t stop you in time.” 

Krista didn’t want to worry them even more than they already were so she skipped the part where she’d been hearing voices. Sometimes they were loud and other times, they were barely audible. It didn’t scare her, in fact, it made her curious. They were people, all sorts of people. There were low gravelly voices and high pitched bright ones. Some were in the middle of conversations. Just…everyday normal conversations about books or films or various hobbies. She didn’t like the sad voices though. 

At the end of the day, she was feeling as sleepy as ever. Krista decided she’d rather go home and sleep instead of a night out with Connie and Sasha who wanted to try out a new sushi bar that opened down the street from their school. 

Her body felt so heavy, she struggled with her book bag and took it off her shoulder hoping it would relieve her of some weight but it made no difference. She leaned on the fence of the bridge, resting for a bit, looking up at the pink orange sky. It was her favorite part of the day. A few birds on the bridge took flight into the sky and Krista wished, more than ever, that she could somehow fly into that marvelous sky. She began making her way home once again. Suddenly her body felt light. The weight she’d felt earlier completely disappeared, melted away like ice. She dropped her book bag in surprise. She lifted one arm, and then the other. They weighed like nothing at all. This is odd, she thought, what’s happening to me? Something else was amiss, she knew it. But what was it? 

Krista looked back and found her real body sprawled on the pavement about ten feet behind her.


	5. Lost Souls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever since the bus accident, Krista has experienced some odd paranormal things. But losing her physical body and growing a purple cat's tail really takes the cake. So she goes to a certain freckled god for help.

Krista’s heart beat quickened rapidly. A buzzing panic overcame her and she stood there staring at her body. She didn’t know what to do and she was too shocked to utter a scream. Her first reaction was to think that she had died and is now a spirit. “But how did I just die like that?” she thought, “...and why am I..somehow still here?” and lastly, “Why is this all happening to to me?” 

She walked to where her body lay and knelt down beside it. To her surprise and relief, Krista found that her real body was merely asleep in a deep slumber. Her chest rose and fell as if she hadn’t slept for days and the uncomfortable ground did nothing to halt her from this state of unconsciousness. She nudged her on the shoulder hoping it would awaken her and she’d return to her physical self somehow but she didn’t budge. A light snore escaped her lips instead.   
“Since when did I snore?” thought Krista.

“What do I do now?” she thought to herself. She was grateful that she was at least still alive. There was no way for her to get home at this rate. But her body felt so light; light as air and she decided she had to fix this whole dilemma no matter what it took. She tried to move her body to safety but to no avail for her her arms went right through as if she were a ghost. Then a thought struck her, “I have to go find that girl, the one in the tracksuit and...and she always wears that jersey around her neck for some reason, I wonder where she is?” 

It was nightfall by now and krista began to worry, she looked down at her body. “Someone will have to find me somehow, someone will look.” She tried her best to believe she’d be okay and ran off in the opposite direction that would lead to the cluster of shrines. There was a big one there, it was built of wood and a grove of trees framed it prettily. A few incense sticks were left burning at the altar and the scent wafted her way. She ran up, not sure if her voice would even make a sound in this mysterious ghostly form, but she tried anyway. Krista yelled for help as loud as she could.

“HELP! PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!!” 

A hand clamped shut over her mouth and she felt a body behind her. She tried squirming out of the grip, “L..et me g-go…!” she yelled but her pleas were muffled. 

“Would you shut up?!” the voice whispered behind her into her ear. She smelled something familiar…it was her scent. It was unmistakable. It was such a nice scent too, like cedarwood and lavender and something sort of smoky. Krista couldn’t help but lean in backwards to smell more of it. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Krista was whirled around to face her now. It was the indeed the girl who called herself a god. She was fuming. Finally, she let go of her. Krista felt the blood rush to her cheeks and she really wanted to hit herself for feeling so ridiculous at a time like this. 

“You shouldn’t make a racket like this, at night...IN FRONT OF A GODDAMN SHRINE!” she said angrily.   
“Look, I’m sorry but I need help! My body is over on that street there, past the second stoplight on the bridge, and ever since that accident, nothing’s been the same, it just keeps getting worse and somehow you’re connected to all of this and now I’m a ghost and I need to get back inside my body and you need to help me!” Krista uttered in a single frantic sentence.

The taller girl just stood there for a few seconds. Neither of them said a word and Krista was about to take off her shoe and fling it at a certain someone until she burst out laughing. She clutched her sides and her face flushed pink making her freckles stand out all the more. Krista made a move toward her pointed leather loafer.

“Okay..okay, look, slow down. I’ll do what I can. Just calm down, geez,” she raised her arms. “Looks like you’re half a phantom now huh?”

“What do you mean?” Krista asked. 

“Well, you’re not a ghost, cause you’re not dead; but you’re not really a phantom either so you can’t be a shinki. You can probably see and hear spirits though, am I right?”

“Yes I do! I hear them most at night, they sort of scare me..”

“It must be that tail of yours.”

“WHAT?”

Krista looked behind her and there was indeed a transparent purple tail much like a cat’s tail. She gave a loud shriek. “Oh my god I have a tail What -when did this…” she twirled around in circles trying to grab a hold of it. The other girl began to chuckle again. 

“This is not funny, you’re supposed to help me, isn’t that what you do anyway? I keep seeing your number all over the place...even the girls’ restrooms.” 

“Hey that’s where I get the best customers.” Krista gave her a look of disgust.

“What’s a shinki, you just mentioned it earlier.”

“A shinki is a spirit that have been given a name by a god, they dwell in the boundary you’re in right now. Like you, they still have souls, they’re not like akayashi. Your soul just...slipped out a little is all.” She nodded towards her tail, “That thing is like a cord, it connects you to our world, the spirit world but it also keeps you in the living world, I suggest you make sure it doesn’t come to any harm.” 

“Well, okay, I just want my body back and not be sleepy so much and not hear voices, can’t you do something?”

“...well, its not that bad. Why don’t you just give up?”   
“ARE YOU INSANE?” Krista exclaimed, “ I’m just a human, i’m not a god like you, I can’t live forever and just be good and dandy all the time, I need my life back.” 

“Dandy eh? Everything dies sooner or later, you’ll see,” she replied sharply though quietly, the wind almost carried it away. She seemed to see the shadow pass over Krista’s small, disappointed face and something about her downtrodden composure allowed Ymir to give way to compassion. She put a hand on the smaller girl’s shoulder, “I’ll do what I can, I never break a promise if someone calls for help, that I can guarantee,” she said in a gentler voice. Krista looked looked up and there was a little more assurance in her clear blue eyes. “For now, I’ll help you carry your body back home where you’ll be safer.”


	6. A Familiar Scent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the strangest night of Krista's life, but somehow the most fun she's ever had. And it wouldn't have been the same if not for the most obnoxious god she's ever had the luck to run into.

Ymir was a god but she was never one to help for free. Somehow, this girl screaming in front of a shrine amused her in a way and she began to wonder more and more about her, quite forgetting her number one rule -how much to charge. This girl with the purple cat’s tail and the clearest blue eyes she’d ever seen. They began walking in the direction Krista pointed out and both were silent for a time. Until Ymir started chuckling under her breath again. 

“What?” asked Krista, annoyed. Ymir was sure the girl thought she never took anything seriously. She didn’t patronize her for it though. Despite her extremely stupid stunt of yelling in front of a shrine at night, she was smart, Ymir could tell that right off the bat. 

“Tail looks cute on you,” she smirked, “..might wanna get some cat ears to match huh?”

Krista just looked at her. 

“No.”

“Just a suggestion, lighten up, geez,” Ymir retorted, though still chuckling. 

It was almost nine o’clock. The streets were still busy with cars and pedestrians. They walked past the little sushi place that just opened up. The storefront was whimsically decorated with fish shaped lanterns and streamers. A handwritten sign was plastered on the front door, “Grand Opening.” it read in curly letters. Ymir glanced inside as a customer opened the door to enter, “Wanna get some sushi before we go? new place looks good.”

“Could you not?” Krista said, steering Ymir away by the arm, “I came to you for one thing and you’re a god so you’re supposed to help me.”

“Arghhh! you’re such a buzzkill,” Ymir rolled her eyes. “I’m hungry though.”

“No.”

“Its been known that gods have to be offered food if people really want their wishes granted.”

“You’re so -you’re so annoying! If you don’t stop, i’m gonna jump kick you right in the face -!” Krista sputtered, getting more frustrated by the minute. 

“Oh yeah? I wonder if that’s possible seeing as you’re not even past my shoulder, want a stool?” Ymir taunted, “maybe you can reach me then.” 

“I’ve had it! You’re just a lousy, good for nothi-” Krista was abruptly stopped by her rant when a huge spider-like form drifted towards them. They had been walking in the direction of the bridge and they were halfway there until the dispute. The empty storefronts and buildings in this part of town looked more dismal than ever. Krista’s eyes widened in fear, this was probably what Ymir meant by the akayashi. 

Ymir however, did not see the giant bluish glowing arachnid approaching them until Krista screamed, “BEHIND YOU, WATCH OUT.” It was incredibly fast and its echoing gutteral phantom voice uttered repeatedly, “smells good….s-smells goood.” 

The spider descended on Ymir unawares and its hairy leg made to puncture her until Krista pushed her roughly out of the way and leaped into the air, (it was quite easy as she was much lighter in this form) giving a swift kick to the spider’s brutish many eyed head, “JUNGLE SAVAAAATE KIIIICK!!” she screamed, her fists balled and ready for battle. It reared back and stumbled on its legs, nursing the wound. 

“I did it!!” Krista yelled, pumping a fist in the air, still breathing heavily, “Touno-sama was guiding me this whole time, I’m sure of it, ahh thank you, thank you!”

Ymir brushed off the dust on her clothes and got up. “She’s saved me again...why?” she thought. “Girl’s got guts.”

Krista ran over to where she’d fallen, “Are you okay?” she asked, “sorry I pushed you so hard.” 

“Nah, just a some scratches,” Ymir replied, “thought you were bluffing about that jump kick.”

“Well, I wasn’t,” Krista said, pleased with herself. A low rumble came from the spider, it was quickly recovering and ready to attack once again. They both turned around to see it was gaining on them again, “Smellllss...goooood.’ 

“These things just don’t know how to give up do they?” Ymir sighed, “I lost my shinki so I can’t kill it, we’ll just have to make a run for it, got it?” Krista nodded. “Let’s go.” 

They ran as fast as they could towards the red bridge, Krista was trying her best not to make her head explode with worry, “I hope my body is safe.” The spider was still after them but it was slowly losing ground and they were both out of breath. 

“It should...be..there,” Krista panted, pointing in the direction at the end of the small bridge. They half jogged, half walked to the destination and it was no surprise that there were a few people surrounding Krista’s sleeping form. A concerned looking middle aged man and was appeared to be his wife were standing there as well. The man took out his cell phone, probably to make a call to the police.

“Oh no, I don’t want the police bringing me home, Ymir what do we do?! They can’t see us!” 

“They can if I let them.”  
“And you’re just telling me this NOW?” Krista exclaimed, open mouthed. 

“Guess it slipped my mind.”

Ymir approached the small gathering of people right before the man could dial the number on his phone, “What’s happened here?” Ymir inquired. A high school aged girl and her friend looked up, surprised to see another person has joined them, but immediately accepted the fact that Ymir’s sudden materialization out of thin air was perfectly normal. “We found this girl, she goes to our school too, she’s...okay, she’s just knocked out, but its dangerous to be unconscious like this in the open,” the friend beside her quipped, “She should have had someone walking with her, especially at this time of the day.” 

“I’m a family friend,” Ymir said, “I’ll take her home, she actually doesn’t live too far from here, it’s fine really, thank you for watching over her,” she turned to the older man, “There’s no need to get the police involved, she’ll be safe with me.” His wife responded, “We were worried, we didn’t want any harm to come to her.” Ymir smiled and said, “You’re all too kind, please, be on your way, its getting really late; you all should be home at this hour.” Ymir knelt down and gingerly picked up Krista’s body with both arms, a loud snore escaped her lips and a line of drool ran down the side of her chin. Krista flushed red, turning away. 

“A-are you sure you don’t just want us to give you both a ride back, i’ve got a car here,” the man gestured towards a small black vehicle parked behind him. 

“Nope, I’m good, like I said, she lives pretty close,” Ymir replied. The high school girls nodded at each other and made to leave while the couple gave one last look at Krista and got back in their car. 

“Isn’t it heavy for you to carry all the way back?” Krista asked. 

“Nope, you’re like a small sack of potatoes.”

“Uh...okay.”

Though, Krista could see a few beads of sweat running down her temple. 

“My house is on that street, we’re almost there.” 

Krista could see that all the lights were on. Her parents must be worried. They were probably calling her cell. She cringed, remembering that she had turned it off all day. 

Everything went black all of a sudden and she began to feel heavy again. An odd rocking movement caused her to open her eyes and everything was dark, the air smelled like it was going to rain.   
“Guess you made it back just in time, huh?” a voice said. She realized she was being carried, someone was carrying her home. She looked up and saw Ymir’s face looking down at hers. Everything came back to her. And there was that pleasant smell again. 

“You -you can put me down, I think I can walk now,” Krista said, rubbing her eyes hoping to tone down the blush creeping from her ears to her cheeks. It was that scent perhaps. 

They reached the doorstep of her house and before Krista rang the doorbell, expecting another lecture from her mother, she turned to face Ymir. “Thank you for helping me,” she said. “I couldn’t have made it back without you.” She wasn’t sure why she was shy all of a sudden, she really wanted to punch herself in the face. But the way Ymir gently put her down with an arm to steady her wobbling legs made all the blood rush straight to her cheeks and her face felt like it was on fire. 

“And I might have been fodder for an eight legged freak, we’re cool,” Ymir snickered. 

“We’ll see each other again, right?” Krista asked, trying her best not to sound too eager. 

“Sure, I gotta fix your little problem don’t I,” Ymir looked at her,”wouldn’t wanna cross Krista Lenz and her Jungle Savate KIck.” 

“Haha…” Krista scratched the back of her head, “I guess I better go in.” Ymir nodded and turned to leave. Krista gave her one last glance before she opened the door. For the strangest night of her life, she realized it was sort of fun.


	7. A Pounding Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krista tells her friends, Connie and Sasha, about the new friend she's made. Ymir runs into an old shinki who reminds her of an unwelcome past.

She was, deep down, a creature of the night. The darkness was comforting even though the akayashi roamed during these hours. As long as she crept soundless about, they didn't bother her too much. The small ones were virtually harmless as long as they weren’t travelling in great numbers. Ymir walked back to her shrine, hands in her pockets, thinking about the fact that she’d had to carry a girl all the way home. A half smile formed on her lips, it was quite amusing watching Krista jump kick an enormous spider in the head; she decided she’d like to see that again if possible. She began to hum, breathing in the crisp city air. 

“Ymir,” a soft voice called her. Ymir stopped in her tracks. It was her. 

She looked around her warily, “Nora, why are you here,” it was more of a statement than a question. A small figure in a white and gray kimono appeared before her. She was childlike with chin length straight black hair and small pale hands, the only other part of her that was uncovered was her face. She was covered in names. She was a stray. They had more than one master and changed their allegiance whenever it suited them. Such dishonor was a vulgar thing as many gods know and agree upon. Nora had no place amongst them. 

In a way, Ymir saw much of herself in her than she liked to admit. 

“Why didn’t you call for me?” she said, stepping closer. “I saw you with her, you didn’t call for me.”

She put a cold hand on Ymir’s cheek, “You have no shinki, let us fight together as we used to...don’t you remember?” her lips stretched in a wide thin smile and Ymir felt her stomach churn. She pushed her hand away. 

“Stay away from me, Nora,” she spat out viciously, knowing only too well that she would always follow her, always haunt her….always remind her of what it was she was distancing herself from. 

The girl only smiled wanly. “You will come back, just give in, Ymir.” 

Ymir didn’t have the heart to say anything more. She continued walking, the uneasiness in her shoulders came back. “We all have a choice, don’t we? Even gods,” she thought to herself. She looked at the cracks in the pavement. A different voice inside her head whispered, “Do I belong anywhere?” 

She turned around only to see that Nora had vanished. The streetlights flickered and a strong wind began to blow. 

___________________________________________

 

After a long lecture with her parents, or more specifically, her mother, Krista went to her room to finally change out of her school uniform, they were quite dirty. Her mother had been more concerned than angry, she knew. Her father was the one to calm things down, he was never one for arguments and every time her parents argued (albeit only occasionally and usually over petty things) he was was the one to back down first and sheepishly retreat back into his study. But he had his quirks and even now, father and daughter went on odd little adventures together in the form of spontaneous road trips.

Krista inherited her gentleness and chivalry from her mother, a short woman compared to their towering father at 6”2’. Her mother was always the first to want to help, and at a young age, Krista participated as a volunteer for many charities and community programs. Her favorite ones were animal shelters, which she still frequented; even more so now that there had recently been a pony added to the local shelter. 

She sat down on her bed in her underwear holding her uniform shirt in her hands still. It smelled like Ymir. Bringing the fabric to her face, she inhaled deeply. It wasn’t just any scent, Krista thought, it was unusual but in the most pleasant way. There would never be a perfume as pleasing as this one. Her face flushed and she brought a hand to her cheek, feeling quite silly. “I...I can’t help it, I kind of like her,” she said to herself. 

It was dark in her room but she made no move to turn on the bedside lamp. She sat there for a while, thinking. After that little adventure she thought sleep would surely come but Krista felt like she was brimming with energy. Reality and its inhabitants felt like some place far away when she thought of Ymir and this other world she was now a part of whether she had a choice in it or not. But the more she mused on this matter, the more she realized these two worlds were just as real. Ymir was just as real as Connie or Sasha or her parents. Its just that Krista only happened to see what was beyond the shore and they didn’t. She sighed and put on her pajamas though she felt like she could run a mile in an instant. 

__________________________

The next day, Krista couldn’t concentrate at all in class. She was more distracted than before, thinking about last night...and she felt so sleepy. After 2 cups of coffee, she still couldn’t keep herself awake. Sasha let her copy off her notes for the second time in a row, something very unusual as it was always the other way around. Sasha and Connie often passed each other notes in class to pass the time, much to Krista’s chastisement. 

“Whoa...Krista, what happened last night?” asked Sasha. 

“Yeah, who’s the guy…?” Connie asked teasingly. Krista blushed, despite her sleepiness. The three of them were seated on a wooden bench on campus, a more secluded area surrounded by lovely trees that turned bright crimson and yellow since October. She had shared with them the strange ‘side effects’ of the bus accidents but that had been all. They thought I was sort of crazy, what makes me think they’ll believe me this time? She thought it better to keep last night’s events to herself. 

“No guy,” she answered quietly. “Aw, c’mon, there’s something you’re not telling us, spill the beans Krista,” Connie folded his arms. 

Krista wanted to tell them, she really did. How would I even start ? Hey guys, so I just found out i can leave my physical body and I have a magical cat tail and I can fly. She wondered if they could possibly see Ymir. Perhaps if she made Ymir show herself to them, they wouldn’t think she was so crazy. She trusted them. 

“Well I did meet a girl…” she started hesitantly. Sasha’s eyes widened and Connie’s arms dropped to his sides. 

“Well, this story’s gotten better than I thought,” laughed Sasha, good naturedly. “Shh, Connie interrupted, “she hasn’t even started, so who’s the girl, what’s she look like? Is she hot?” asked Connie at lightning speed.

“She’s um, yeah...she’s pretty hot,” Krista giggled, “she has light brown eyes and short hair and freckles, she’s really tall.” She hadn’t went into detail the last time she spoke of Ymir. They wouldn’t know it was the very same girl...yet. 

“Were you guys on a date last night? I thought you were going home right after school?...So that’s why you left so early!” Sasha exclaimed. 

“Yeah we...we were on a date, but it wasn’t planned. I guess I just sort of ran into her...we, uh...we went out for some sushi; you know that place that just opened up.”

“We stayed there for a while, just talking, Krista continued, “she likes reading about gods and monsters and spirits...that’s what we talked about. It was really interesting,” Krista finished, red-faced. 

“Oh..okay, cool, didn’t know you dig that kinda stuff!” said Connie. Sasha nodded, “She seems pretty nice,” smiling. 

“When do we get to meet this lady lover?” asked Connie, patting her playfully on the shoulder.

“Soon, she’s um...she’s kinda shy, and she’s pretty busy these days, I’ll try to ask so maybe we can hang out or something,” Krista said, hoping her lie didn’t seem too obvious. She wasn’t really lying though, she thought to herself. I'm just leaving out a few details.

They’ll love her. Ymir was rough around the edges but she could be warm and gentle. She saw that in her eyes and the way she carried her. They will see.

**Author's Note:**

> shinki: are human spirits who usually died young and are revived by gods to use as weapons. Though not all of them are weapons, they can be anything, even a pair of earrings. 
> 
> Phantoms: are the same as shinigami i suppose, they come out at night and will hover around people who have bad/dark energy around them. (ex: depressed or suicidal people would attract phantoms)


End file.
